When Walls Come Tumbling Down
by Maddie
Summary: Unknown to her friends at the ARC Jess is injured in an accident. When she fails to report for work and does not respond to attempts to reach her, Becker fears the worst and mounts a massive search to find her before its too late. Jecker not est.
1. Chapter 1

Title: When Walls Come Tumbling Down

Author: Maddie

Rating: PG

**When Walls Come Tumbling Down**

A sharp gust of wind hammered against her rocking her back and forth. The sensation was almost soothing, like a big porch swing on a blustery day, pushing just enough that it moved with no effort. But the wailing sound screaming around her devastated that sense of calm, wrenching her painfully back to the present. She struggled to open her eyes fighting the urge to simply give in and sleep. Forcing her eyes open, her head pounded and spun, completely disoriented. She seemed to be hanging, drawn sideways but suspended by a tight constriction across her chest and hips. _Seatbelt_, she thought groggily, as she slowly realized that she was in her car, but that her car was canted at a crazy angle. Peaking through squinted eyes the gaily colored lights on the vehicles dash danced and swam, but refused to completely come into focus. She squinted again, trying to make sense of what was before her. The tachometer told her the engine was still running. Struggling against the leaden weight of her own limbs she reached for the ignition to kill the motor, her trembling hand barely able to grasp the cluster of keys and turn them to the off position. As she did so the interior of the vehicle plunged into darkness and howling of the wind rose to a primeval scream blotting out all thought. Unable to remain focused amidst the darkness and rush of the wind she slipped into unconsciousness.

# # # #

A flurry of activity on the main floor of the ARC caught Lester's attention and he leaned forward to determine the source. Becker. Lester glanced at his watch. This was the third time in twenty minutes his chief of security had appeared on the floor, scanning the area around the ADD, ostensibly contacting incoming personnel at shift change. _Though it was far more likely_, Lester thought, _he was checking on the current lack of a team coordinator._ As much as Becker tried not to wear his heart on his sleeve it had become obvious to his teammates that the emotionally guarded young captain had fallen hopelessly for their young field coordinator. Becker appeared to be the only person who had not realized his entanglement yet. Still, he could understand Becker's concern

The young soldier seated in front of the ADD, while quite capable of handling his assigned duty, should have logged off and gone home thirty minutes ago. Instead he continued to man his post in the absence of the normally punctual Ms. Parker. While concerned that Jess had not phoned in to report the reason for her delay, Lester had assumed her arrival had been hampered by the same foul weather that had snarled traffic and disrupted telephone and cell service all through London. The unusually high winds that had pounded the country over night had downed trees, damaged structures, and wrought havoc on all major services and systems. He himself had been delayed as a result. He had also been eternally grateful that there had been no active anomalies during the storm. Response to such an emergency would have been severely compromised.

Lester sighed and reached for his com panel. "Captain Becker, could you please report to my office," he said succinctly. _Time to distract the captain before his prowling about disrupts the entire ARC_, Lester thought, _more so than it already has._

Two minutes later Becker stood in front of his desk, black uniform crisp and fresh, hands clasped loosely behind his back, balanced, composed and ready to spring into action. Not a hint of concern in his posture or demeanor, only the consummate professional.

Clearing his throat, Lester addressed the captain with the same professional calm. "It appears the weather has delayed the arrival of several key members of your team."

Becker nodded the affirmative.

"Please make sure all personnel remain at their posts until they are relieved."

"Already taken care of, sir," Becker answered crisply, then waited a moment before continuing. "Was there anything else, sir?"

_Other than the obvious,_ Lester thought. "Have Matt, Connor, Abby and Jess arrived in the facility yet?"

This time Lester did detect the slightest frown before Becker's face was once again masked with calm. "Matt has, not yet for the other three."

"Would you keep me apprised of their arrival?" As he spoke he sensed another flurry of activity beneath his office.

"It appears Connor and Abby have arrived, sir," Becker noted dryly.

Lester cleared his throat then turned to his laptop. "Thank you," he replied with equal dryness. "You may return to your duties."

Becker nodded, quickly retreating from Lester's office, and, Lester noted, with some predictability headed directly to the ADD.

# # # #

Abby was busy finger combing her wildly windblown hair into a braid at the nape of her neck when Becker charged down the steps into ops from the upper level.

"Good, morning," she said cheerily, grinning as Becker quickly scanned surrounding area. "A bit blustery out there."

Becker nodded absently. Abby stifled the giggle she felt rising in her throat. It wouldn't due to tease in front of everybody, but she knew exactly what, or she should say who, the good captain was looking for.

"If you're looking for Jess, she spent the night somewhere other than her flat," Connor called out in a tone that seemed to carry to all levels of the ARC.

Abby's elbow caught Connor in the ribcage, stifling his next comment before he blurted anything else that might make Becker blush. As she did she heard, with some satisfaction the whuff of air that slipped past Connor's lips.

"Abby," Connor wailed in mock despair. "Come on now, what was that for?"

Abby stepped in front of Connor diverting him again from his target. "The wind is quite wicked. Is Jess here yet?" Abby asked Becker directly.

"I assumed she would be with you," Becker responded noncommittally. "Most personnel were hampered by the weather situation and have been arriving late."

Not a hint of personal concern slipped into Becker's voice, but Abby could see the tension along his jaw as he clenched his teeth. "She didn't come home last night," Abby said calmly.

Becker did not respond verbally, too reserved to take the bait from either Connor or herself, but she saw the fleeting look of concern in his eyes. The same sensitivity to non verbal communication that made her an extraordinarily adept animal handler had also made her particularly adept at 'reading' the captain over the past two years. She prided herself on that ability. "Jess planned on visiting a friend after work Friday," Abby said, "A girl friend," she added intending to allay at least one of Becker's concerns. "She was supposed to come back to the flat last night, but she wasn't there when we got up this morning. We hoped she'd decided to wait out the storm at her friend's house."

"Did you try calling her?"

"At the risk of sounding like a doting auntie, I did," Abby confessed. "She didn't answer."

There was no longer any disguising the concern on in Becker's face and suddenly Abby felt guilty not only for teasing him, but also for her blasé attitude about Jess's tardiness. She really did believe her friend had simply been delayed be the weather, as had everyone else. She laid a hand on Becker's arm. "There's no reason to assume anything is wrong," she said reassuringly.

Becker's look turned grim. "And every reason to assume there could be."

Abby knew quite well that Becker might be right. Jess was never late and was always quick to use her phone if she thought she might be. To not hear from her was suspect even if the weather was causing problems.

"Did she give any indication were she was going?"

"I'm not her mum. She's a big girl and doesn't have to report her comings and goings to me or anyone else," Abby responded somewhat defensively.

"But did she?"

"No," said Abby quietly.

Becker froze for a moment then spun on his heal and headed straight for the young officer in Jess's seat. Abby caught up to him in time to catch his first string of orders.

"I want you to access the cell phone records for that number and tell me exactly where that phone was last used."

"But sir, is that not highly irregular?"

"Perhaps, but a good field coordinator would do the same to save your backside. You can reciprocate. Then start assembling search teams."

"Ahem."

Abby and Becker turned simultaneously to face James Lester. Abby stood slightly to the rear of the captain and felt she was hidden half behind him. Lester's look was sharp.

"And did you intend on requesting permission to place the entire ARC on high alert, or were you going to trust in my understanding and good grace?" Lester asked firmly.

Abby was glad she was not standing between the ARC Commander and its Security Chief as they faced off toe to toe. A long moment of tense silence stretched between the two, broken at last by Captain Becker, who drew himself to his full height, feet spread and hands firmly clasped behind his back. "Sir," he said formally, "Request permission to initiate a search for Ms. Parker."

"And what evidence do you have that a search is necessary," Lester shot back.

"She has not yet reported for duty…"

"Half the ARC's personnel have been late reporting for duty," Lester interrupted.

"She is not responding to repeated attempts to contact her by phone…"

"Phone communications have been disrupted all over London."

"Her current whereabouts are unknown, and she has not made contact with any member of the team in over 48 hours. All of which is highly unusual for her." Becker finished as though he had never been interrupted.

Lester took a deep, exasperated breath. "Permission granted."

Becker did not wait for Lester to continue, spinning on his heel and heading in the direction of his ready room and the armory.

"Try to leave at least a skeleton crew behind," Lester called out after him. "We might actually need them. Anomalies and such," Lester finished, more to himself than to Becker. "That is our primary function." He muttered something else under his breath as he turned towards his office. Abby was not sure what she actually heard but it sounded suspiciously like 'I should know better than to come between the hero and the object of his affection.'

# # # #

A bone rattling shake jarred her suddenly to consciousness, jolting her against the seat belt that still held her firmly in her seat, the wind screamed with malevolent intensity, as it forced its way through the twisted door frame. Jess caught a powerful scent of pine pitch, and felt a giddy laugh bubble out of her that sounded tinged with hysteria even to her befuddled ears. She had had the most macabre dream about Christmas trees covered with ornaments that more resembled a carnivore's teeth than any sane decoration, and tiny chicken sized dinosaurs danced a twisted jig around its base nipping at her heels while she clung to its branches for dear life. A groan escaped her lips. Putting one hand to her pounding head to ease the ache, she felt a sticky mess in her hair. At first she thought it was the pine pitch she had smelled, but even in the feeble light she could tell it was blood that stained her finger tips.

She tried to shift her weight off the seat belt that cut into her hips, but when she put pressure on the floor with her feet a sharp pain in her right ankle and knee made her cry out. Her leg, which had been numb before she tried to move, now throbbed. Slowly she worked both her feet afraid they might be wedged tight beneath the dash and found her right foot immobilized. Even these slight movements left her head swimming and her stomach churning with pain. She allowed herself to go completely limp, hanging from the seatbelt like a rag doll. What had happened? How had she ended up trapped in her car, which appeared to have come to rest on its side, with the nose pointed sharply downward? She had to be in a ditch. She opened her eyes, trying to take stock of her situation. Her head swam with the effort.

There was enough dim light filtering into the passenger compartment of the car to let her know it was daylight, but the windscreen was obscured. She forced her eyes to focus on the moving mass outside until she realized she was looking at the branches of a tree, jammed against the glass, yet still moving in the wind. That explained the strong scent of pine sap as well as it appeared to be an evergreen of some sort. So her vehicle was in a ditch, tipped on its side, pinned by a fallen tree. And she had no clue how it had happened.

Yet another gust of wind buffeted the small car. She fought to stay focused, to think clearly. If no one knew where to look for her, she would have to help herself. Jess shivered. The right side of her clothing was soaked from the rain dripping through the bent frame of the driver's side door. If she could run the engine to stay warm while she tried to get herself free she might avoid becoming hypothermic, but the keys were no longer in the ignition. She groaned softly, searching in the dim light for the cluster of keys. Vaguely, she remembered killing the engine so they had to be here.

####

"You're certain that was the last location of her cell phone?" Becker tried to keep his voice level and professional, even though his heart pounded and every nerve in his body screamed at the young man to work faster. He _had_ to find her.

"Yes, sir," the young soldier sitting at Jess's console answered. "Last location was Evesham. We can approximate the route she took leaving London by mapping the towers her phone picked up and the times. This is the general route, if we presume she stayed on the main roads."

"Evesham is two hours distant from here. That's a lot of ground to cover."

"At least we can guess her route," Abby added, attempting to play the optimist. "Jess probably took the same route home that she took when she went to Evesham"

"And assuming Evesham really was her destination and she didn't travel beyond that." Becker ran a hand through his hair. "Abby," he said with an exasperated sigh, "the next time Jess decides to go off, I'll pay you to be a bit more inquisitive and ask where she's going."

"And do I ask her for an itinerary as well?"

Becker glared. "We're going to spread out along the route we think she took to Evesham. We'll need to concentrate our search on the south and east bound lanes of traffic as she was most likely on her way back to London, but we need to check the outbound lanes as well. Start contacting all of the intervening police and medical facilities in case she has already been located. Matt is going to start the search from this direction. There's a plane waiting to take me and two search crews to any airport close to Evesham. We'll work our way this direction."

"Connor is going to go with Matt," Abby said. "I'd like to join your team."

Becker nodded. "Let's get moving."

####

Jess blinked, rubbing her eyes to remove the dried blood from her eyelashes. She needed to find her keys, and start the car before she became hypothermic. There was enough space around the damaged driver's side door that carbon monoxide shouldn't be a worry. She hoped. Two deep breaths helped calm her. If she had dropped the keys, they would be somewhere on the passenger's side, and if she was lucky they would be within her reach. It was difficult enough to see in the gloomy interior of the car, made even worse by her vision which insisted on swirling instead of focusing. She reached out with her left hand and began to grope along the edge of the seat and the passenger's door, hoping the keys were not down in the foot well. Her ankle and knee screamed, the awkward position pulling at the tendons of her knee and pressing on her injured ankle. Jess tried very hard to ignore the pain and concentrate on making her eyes work together.

Forcing herself to work slowly and methodically, she ran her hand over every surface within an arm's length. And found nothing. She fought down a moment of panic as a shiver ran through her. The incessant dripping rain leaking though the twisted door frame had saturated most of her clothing. The whipping wind whistled through the gap with chilling intensity. She shivered again. She had to find her keys. Her only other option was to escape from the car and hope she could flag down someone on the roadside. But both her doors were pinned, one by the ground and one by the tree that had fallen on her car. There was no way she would be able to open them. She would have to try and smash a window, but to do that she would have to free her foot. And to do that she would have to release her seat belt, which currently was the only thing keeping her weight off her injured and trapped ankle. Her heart sank as a wash of despair overwhelmed her. She was so cold and so tired. All she really wanted to do was curl up and drift off to sleep.

#####


	2. Chapter 2

Abby tugged her cap farther down on to her forehead as their van slowed to a stop at the side of the road and they struggled to wrench open the doors against the steady pressure of the wind. She was becoming exceedingly weary of wind. She set her feet firmly and bowed her shoulder into gusts that tore at her clothes with icy fingers and trudged toward the side of the road. She had been amazed at the depth of damage from the storm, trees down, power poles skewed and listing, lines drooping near the ground. They had stopped at every mar in the landscape, every downed tree, every set of skid marks on the road surface. They had poked through brush and screamed until they were hoarse, and each time they had crawled back into their vehicles, exhausted, only to clamber out a few hundred yards down the road and repeat the process. And each time they had come up empty Becker's face had become tighter, more closed. Abby would have preferred to see him grim, or cursing in frustration, but the silent, controlled coldness that crept over him chilled her and she did not mean to make a pun. She recognized the mask. She knew what it hid. Whether Becker acknowledged it or not, this search was tearing him apart. Behind his carefully constructed, militarily correct aloofness, behind the methodical, machinelike precision of his actions, lay a heart that pounded with fear, pounded like hers did, terrified that when they finally found Jess, it would be too late. It had been hours since she and Connor had tumbled into the ARC, laughing at the capriciousness of the weather and the havoc it had wrought on everyone's schedule. And in those hours the wind had continued to howl unabated, and now the temperatures were beginning to drop noticeably. They had to find Jess, and they had to find her soon.

"Fan out!" she heard Becker command, his voice carrying above the wind.

He did not need to say anything. She and the rest of the ARC personnel were already moving as one body, spreading along the edge of the road, pushing into the woods along the roadside, as they done over and over all morning. Abby fought hard to keep the despair from besting her resolve. Shielding her eyes from the slashing rain and wind borne debris, she turned slightly south, away from the rest of the men. She felt a sudden overwhelming despair, and did not want any of them to see the tears that threatened to come against her will. She turned her eyes to the ground, her feet slowing reluctantly, afraid to enter the wooded area, because she knew she could not tolerate another disappointment. And she stopped abruptly as the toe of her boot caught on a raised tuft of grass. She almost dismissed the obstruction until she realized she hadn't just stumbled over a tuft, she had stumbled over a ridge of raised grass running across the verge from the road to the edge of the woods. And there was a matching ridge a few feet beyond. Tire tracks. Someone had driven off the road. She began to run towards the brush, noticing as she approached the broken and twisted branches of the shrubbery. Without thinking she shoved through the brush and found herself careening down a steep embankment, stopping only when she slammed into the rear end of a small red car, tipped over on its side, and pinned by a huge pine that had managed to fall right onto the vehicle, completely obscuring it.

"Oh, my God! Becker!" Abby screamed into her headpiece. "I've found her car!"

Abby started tearing madly at the branches obscuring the vehicles windows, trying to see inside, yet afraid of what she might discover. The wood was green and snapped back at her attempts to break it but she was able to press her face against the rear window. And saw a limp figure, still strapped to the driver's seat unmoving and unresponsive as Abby pounded on the window, screaming to get Jess's attention to no avail.

"…where?"

Only then did Abby realize Becker had been yelling in her ear asking for direction to her location.

"About twenty meters south of where we parked. There are tire tracks leading into the woods, but you can't see the car. Just push through the brush. And hurry! I can't tell how badly injured she is." Abby bit her tongue before she blurted the thought that burned through her brain. _I don't even know if she's alive._

"We're coming, Abby," Becker's voice finally betrayed what he had to be feeling.

"She's trapped in her car," Abby said, sucking in a deep breath to steady her own roiling thoughts and pounding heart.

"We've got an ambulance en route and the medics will be here soon."

_Hurry!_ She thought. She didn't need to say it out loud.

Seconds later she heard the rest of the men as they pushed through the underbrush, she felt a hand on her shoulder, pushing her to the side. She turned to snap at its owner, in full protective mode, and then realized it was Becker. He pressed his face to the glass long enough to confirm what she already had determined, that it was Jess and that she was unconscious. She watched as his face briefly betrayed his emotions. Relief that they had finally found Jess followed in rapid order by the same agonizing fear that gripped Abby now. What if they were too late?

# # #

"We've got to get her out of there now," Becker snapped. "Jacobs, bring the SUV with the winch. We need to winch that tree off her car."

"That could take time," Abby said urgently.

Becker did not need her to remind him that every second was critical. They had been searching for hours and who know how long Jess had been trapped before they realized she was in trouble. God, they didn't even know if she was alive. She had not responded to the noise of their arrival or their attempts to rouse her.

"I'm not waiting till then," he told her firmly. "There's a jack handle in the back of the van. Get it for me now. And bring blankets and the first aid kit," he ordered another of the men.

The man was back in minutes but to Becker it seemed hours. _Just hang on Jess,_ he said over and over in his mind. _We are not going to lose you. Stay with us just a little longer. Be with us._

Becker tossed one of the blankets over the back window of the car to contain the glass, then slammed the jack handle into the glass with all his strength and kept slamming until the glass was completely shattered, putting all his fear and frustration into each blow. For one brief second he glanced in Abby's direction and was shocked by the look on her face. She watched him with the wariness of someone watching a violently unbalanced mental case wielding a deadly weapon. In this instant that assessment might almost be correct. Becker realized he had lost his professional edge. After hours of control he had let his emotions boil out and take over his reason. He took two deep breaths, attempting to reassert that sense of professionalism.

"Okay," he said to the men who had arrived with the winch equipped SUV. "We need to get that tree off her car. If we can't get the door open, she'll have to be cut out when the medics and rescue personnel arrive. But removing that obstacle will make their job easier and they will get to her faster. Jacobs, you're in charge."

Becker turned to find Abby knocking the rest of the glass away from the rear window. "I'll go in and steady her," Abby said. "We don't know how badly she's hurt. We need to stabilize her spine as well as we can. The less jarring the better."

"You're right," Becker said, grabbing her by the arm. "You're right, Abby. But I'm going in."

Abby opened her mouth.

"No. No argument. It's me. I'll fit as well as you. Please Abby. I have to do this." Becker knew quite well what Abby was trying to do. What she was trying to protect him from. Whoever crawled into the car would be the first to know if Jess were alive or dead. And _he_ was going to be that person. "Please help the medics when they get here," he added more gently. He turned as Abby's eyes began to brim with tears. But she nodded her understanding.

Becker squeezed his torso through the broken window, and pulled his legs in behind him. He moved cautiously, to avoid any unnecessary movement and broken glass. Jess had still not roused, her body was held in the driver's seat by her seat belt. Her hair, hanging lank and wet from the rain, obscured her face. He took a deep breath, steeling himself for the worst, and ever so gently reached out to lift her hair away from her face. As he did his fingers brushed the icy surface of her cheek. She was cold, too cold. There was a tightening in his chest and his heart was pounding in a way no combat situation had ever made him react. Her face was colorless and the entire right side was caked with dried blood. Supporting her head with his left hand he gently felt for the pulse in her neck with fingers of the right. And found nothing. "No," he said through gritted teeth, his voice edged with despair.

"Becker!" It was Abby. "Becker is she…"

"Give me a minute." He responded surprised by the roughness of his voice, and the agony that seized his heart in an iron grip. She had to be alive. He tried again to find her pulse. It had to be there. And then he felt the slightest flutter under his fingertip, faint and erratic, but there.

"Yes," he called to Abby, "I've got a pulse. But we have to hurry she's frozen, hypothermic. She has a visible head wound, and possibly other injuries as well. Tell Jacobs to get that tree off the car. I have her. Are the medics…?"

"They just arrived," Abby answered before he finished. He glanced back to see her face in the shattered rear window, smiling from ear to ear as tears streamed down her face. Abby reached through and Becker felt her hand rest on his back. "We'll get her out. We'll get her home." Then she passed a second emergency blanket through the window.

Becker nodded and turned back to Jess his heart pounding furiously. He tucked the blanket around her as best he could. Gently he cradled her bloodied head in his hands, lifting her matted hair away from her ashen face, wanting nothing more than to see her eyes open, to hear her voice, her laughter. Then something inside him began to crumble. The hours of tension had taken their toll. He had spent half a lifetime building a wall around his heart, impenetrable he had once thought. After Sarah's death he had sworn no one would ever again scale that wall. He had been right. No one had scaled it. But one slip of a woman had managed to utterly undermine it. And now she was unconscious, beyond his capability to help. The raw emotion engulfing his unguarded heart was almost overwhelming. The focus of his existence became her head resting in his hands, the ice cold touch of her skin, the bloody hair. All he could do was hold her, and pray they had arrived in time. "We'll get you home, my love," he said softly kissing the top of her coppery hair. "We _will_ get you home. Just stay with us. Stay with _me_."

The next twenty minutes were a blur. His entire existence had narrowed to the blood matted strands on the top of her head. Becker was aware of the shiver that ran through the frame of the car as Jacobs and his men winched the tree from its resting place on the car's side. The metal groaned with relief as the weight lifted. He heard the rescue personnel struggling to open the door, and finally having to sheer through the metal to release Jess right leg which was trapped in the crumpled wreckage. He was only vaguely aware of the medics securing a brace around her neck and removing her head from his hands, and then as they were placing her on a stretcher someone, Abby, was urging him from the vehicle. Only then did he register his own cramped limbs that had been curled in an impossible position in the back of Jess's small car. He was cold and stiff and crawled out of the car feeling more like a defeated old man than he had ever felt in his life.

"You need to go with her," Abby was saying to him.

He felt himself staring stupidly at her as if she were speaking unintelligible gibberish.

"Someone needs to go to hospital with her," Abby was saying. She had taken him by the shoulders and emphasized her words by giving him a small shake. "They'll have questions at the hospital that someone will have to answer."

"Could you do that Abby? I need to get the men…"

"NO you don't." Abby emphasized each word with another shake. Anger flashed across her face, turning her eyes to ice. "There is no 'security' stuff you need to do right now. Your men can find their way back to London without you taking them by the hand. Jacobs is capable, he can take charge. Your place is with Jess. I know that. Its time you learned that as well."

"Alright," Becker said, "Alright. I'm going. Just one thing."

"What?" Abby said her anger suddenly deflated.

"I'm beginning to feel like a well shaken rag doll."

A quick rush of blood colored Abby's cheeks, as she sheepishly released him from the grip she had maintained on his shoulders, turning him gently in the direction of the ambulance into which they had just finished loading Jess. "Go," she said giving him a little push in that direction. "They won't wait."

Becker needed no further encouragement. The medics did not argue when he asked to ride to the hospital with them, moving so he could sit next to Jess, but still allow them enough space to work in the cramped interior of the ambulance. He was able to answer a few brief questions directed at him about Jess, but beyond that he was completely helpless. One of the medics, a young woman not much older than her patient, seemed to take pity on him, as she patted his hand reassuringly.

"She's in good hands. We'll be at the hospital in ten minutes. You can stay with her until we take her into the exam area, then you'll have to wait outside unless you're a family member." The last comment was more question than comment, and he noticed she glanced at his hands looking for a ring.

"No," he said hastily. "N..not family. Um, a friend."

"A good one I trust." The girl's expression was non committal, but he could almost hear her asking 'how good.' Then she shifted towards Jess's head, adjusting the IV that was already dripping, and indicated that Becker could move closer.

"She's stable. As long as she stays that way, there's no harm in holding her hand."

_God_, Becker thought, were his emotions that obvious to everyone? But he did not resist and quickly shifted closer to Jess, finding her hand under the blankets they had swathed her in. It was still icy cold. Blood was caked under her fingernails where she must have touched her head, and one of her nails was broken. He folded his warm hands around hers and brought it to his lips. _You're going to pull through this_. The thought was a desperate, all-consuming prayer. _You will_.

# # #

"I think it's sweet. And I don't mean that as a pun."

The voice, a woman's voice, drifted out of the murmur of sound surrounding her. She was barely aware of the voices, surprised she could understand the words. Adrift in a wash of hushed sounds that felt like a whisper of waves lapping against the shore a soft in and out, she floated on sentences devoid of words yet soothing in their presence. And she was warm. Wonderfully, delightfully warm. She did not have the energy to open her eyes. Yet she was certain she was safe and allowed herself to give in to the drowsiness that tugged her back into the gentle arms of sleep.

# # #

"He's been here the entire night."

This time the words were accompanied by the swishing sound of fabric and a soft movement of air.

"I suggested he go to the vacant room next to the visitor's lounge and get some sleep, but he insisted on staying right here."

"Such devotion."

"Charming really. But he's going to have a stiff neck when he wakes up."

Reluctantly Jess forced her eyes open. The distinctive scent of disinfectant lingered in the air and the bleep of a monitor behind her told her she had to be in the hospital. Her body felt light, afloat, pain free and warm. She tried to focus on the movement beside her but could barely focus her eyes.

"Well, look here," said the first voice. "Miss Parker, I see you've decided to rejoin the living."

The woman had slowly become less a shapeless blob and more a distinct person as Jess struggled to bring her eyes into line. She tried to speak, but all that came out of her mouth was a ragged croak.

"Now, now," said the second voice soothingly, "Don't try to talk just yet. Let me get you a drink of water."

Jess felt a straw pressed against her lips and she took a tentative sip, then a deeper draught realizing how thirsty she was. "Where…"

"You're in the hospital," said the same soothing voice. "You were injured in an accident. Your car went off the road in the weather, but you're safe now."

Jess found herself focusing on the identification badge that was inches from her face, pinned to the front of blue hospital scrubs. Emma Watts it read.

"How?" she asked, her voice still scratchy, but not an unintelligible croak.

"This nice young man came in with you. That's all we know."

Jess forced herself to look beyond Nurse Watts' name badge to the figure they had been fussing over when she had awoken. Slowly the dark blur solidified into an identifiable face and shape. _Becker_, she thought.

"He's been with you all night." Nurse Watts continued talking while she noted readings on several monitors, and adjusted the flow of the IV that was slowly dripping into Jess's arm. "Except for a short time when he slipped out and came back with a lovely chocolate rose for you."

Ms. Watts motioned to the foil wrapped confection standing in a slender white vase on her bedside table. "Quite sweet, we thought. No pun intended. Now, dearie, tell us on a scale of one to ten, are you experiencing any pain?"

"No," Jess answered. "A well drugged zero would be my answer." She truly was pain free.

"Shall I wake him?"

Jess shook her head, "No." She yawned. "I think I'll join him."

# # #

Warm hands caressed hers, fingers making gentle soothing motions on the surface of her palm in a slow circular movement. She drifted in that pleasant half awareness on the verge of wakefulness loathe to actually pull herself back to consciousness, tempted to simply slip back into blissful sleep. But something about the persistent gentleness of her hand holding companion forced her eyes to open.

The room was dark, except for a low light on the bedside table and the glow from the monitors next to the bed. Her eyes focused more quickly this time, which she hoped was a good sign.

Becker smiled encouragingly. "We've been waiting for you to rejoin us," he said softly.

"We?"

"The others were here. Matt, Connor and Abby. Several times during the last 24 hours or so. But you've been asleep. They've gone home. They'll be back tomorrow."

"How long?"

"Have you been here?" Becker shrugged. "A little over a day. With luck they'll let you go home tomorrow or the next day."

Jess nodded. "And you. Have you gone home?" She suspected she knew the answer, based on the line of stubble along his jaw.

"I'm fine."'

"You didn't have to stay."

"Yes." Becker's response was almost fierce. "Yes I did," he finished more gently. "I needed to be here when you woke up." There was a barely perceptible catch in his voice that caught Jess's attention as no overt emotional reaction might. "I needed to be here. To make sure you were all right."

Jess wanted to assure him but something about his demeanor kept her silent and expectant. She found herself holding her breath, her heart pounding. A few beats faster and the alarms on the heart monitors would bring every nurse on the ward running to her room. She forced herself to take a deep breath. Becker's long silence had begun to unnerve her, when he slowly raised her hand to his lips and kissed it.

"You scared me to death," he said in a voice husky with emotion. "I thought, this time, I'd really lost you. And I couldn't bear the thought of that happening…" His expression crumbled into one of abject despair.

She knew where his mind had gone in that brief moment, remembering his torment living with the deaths of all those he had lost in the years before she came to the ARC. Then he seemed to compose himself.

"I couldn't bear the thought of possibly losing you before I had a chance to tell you,' he gulped nervously, "how much I love you."

This time Jess did suck in her breath, and her heart did begin to pound, right before she felt her face crumple and the tears began to stream down her cheeks. She sobbed once convulsively, and Becker blanched.

"Oh, God, I'm sorry,' he blurted, dropping her hand like he had been burned. "I didn't mean too…"

"Oh, you fool," she sobbed, "I've been waiting to hear those words since that day Matt tested the EMD on you."

"You," he stammered, "you…"

"Yes," she said her sobs turning into girlish giggles. "Yes. I love you too."

At the sound of her declaration Becker began to grin, a face splitting joyful smile that she felt reflected on her own lips.

Cautiously, taking great care not to jostle her IV Becker's arms slid around her and he folded her into his embrace, kissing her on the top of the head. "I should have said so months ago." He murmured fiercely into her hair.

"Doesn't matter," she murmured sleepily, "You've said it. And there's no taking it back." She emphasized each word by poked him gently in the chest with her index finger, as she settled into the security and warmth of his arms, nuzzling into his chest and inhaling the scent of him. _I'll never be cold again_, she thought. She felt him kiss the top of her head again and she turned her head upwards to look into his eyes alight with joy and fierce with emotion. _Time for a proper kiss_, she thought as she pulled his face down to hers. _The nursing_ _staff be damned_. And vaguely, through the rush of blood in her ears, she heard a monitor alarm, and the sound of rushing footsteps.

The End


End file.
